Kirk Cousins begins his 2nd stint with Vikings as they face the Packers in an NFC North showdown

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Kirk Cousins’ career seemed at a crossroads when he tore his Achilles tendon during his last visit to Lambeau Field.

That he’s returning three years later, again as a member of the Minnesota Vikings, is a testament to the veteran quarterback’s tenacity. Five days after Minnesota reacquired him from the Las Vegas Raiders, Cousins will try to help the Vikings (6-2) snap a two-game skid on Sunday and complete a regular-season sweep of the Green Bay Packers (6-3).

“Knowing that that was where I was carted off and had thoughts of: ‘Is this my last game? And my last game as a Viking?’" Cousins said. “To be back there wearing the purple and gold, it has meaning. But you have to go make it mean something by the way you play.”

Cousins’ Achilles injury came during a 24-10 victory on Oct. 29, 2023, that marked his last game with the Vikings. He was in Atlanta from 2024-25 before spending the first half of this season at Las Vegas.

Now he will try to boost a Vikings offense that hasn’t scored more than 16 points in any of its last three games.

“He’s been calling plays in some different offenses over the last couple of years, so we’re working through just getting him comfortable, getting him up to speed,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. “He’s really smart. A lot of things come back quick to him.”

The Vikings don’t have time to ease Cousins back into this role as they attempt to win the unforgiving NFC North, where the Packers are still in last place even after winning five of their last six games.

That puts divisional matchups at a premium, and Green Bay already lost 39-22 at Minnesota in the season’s opening week. The Packers gave up the final 29 points of that game as Minnesota’s pass rush continually got to quarterback Jordan Love.

Love believes he knows what it takes to beat this defense, but he also understands the enormity of the task.

“You’ve got to hit explosives, you’ve got to get a run game going and you’ve got to protect,” Love said. “Those are like the key things to playing this defense and taking care of the ball. I think all of those things are huge. Like I said, they live in the world of chaos and trying to make you confuse and get you in some third-and-long situations where I think that’s where they’re at their best."

Minnesota (6-2) at Green Bay (6-3)

When/where to watch: Sunday, 1 p.m. EST, Fox.

Latest odds: Packers by 3.

Against the spread: Vikings 4-4; Packers 6-3.

Last week: Vikings lost 23-6 at home to Buffalo on Monday night; Packers won 45-27 at New England on Sunday.

Packers beat Panthers 27-19; Patriots beat Dolphins 24-19.

Last meeting: Vikings beat Packers 39-22 on Sept. 13 in Minneapolis.

Series record: Packers lead 67-62-3.

Packers offensive line vs. Vikings pass rush. Although Love threw for 387 yards in Green Bay’s season-opening loss at Minnesota, he threw an interception and lost a fumble during the Packers’ fourth-quarter collapse as the Vikings didn’t give him any time to throw. The Vikings have 3.6 sacks per game to tie Houston for the NFL’s highest average. Love has thrown for an NFL-leading 2,618 yards.

— Vikings star WR Justin Jefferson has hit the 100-yard mark only once in his last 19 games. That came against the Packers in the final game of the 2025 season. Jefferson has only five touchdowns in his last 23 games, with two coming against the Packers in Week 1.

— Since the start of the 2025 season, the Vikings have 44 offensive touchdowns, the fourth-fewest in the NFL. They’re second-to-last in net yards over that span.

— The Vikings have at least four sacks in six of their eight games. They’re the only team in the league with that many four-sack games.

— Vikings LB Blake Cashman has at least seven tackles in 19 straight games, the longest active streak in the league. He began the week in the concussion protocol, putting his availability for Sunday in question.

— Love’s two highest passing yardage totals came against the Vikings, though both were in losses. He threw for 387 yards at Minnesota in this year’s season opener and had 389 yards passing in a 31-29 home loss to the Vikings in 2024.

— The Packers have 19 takeaways to rank second in the NFL, behind Tampa Bay’s 21. The Packers’ plus-8 turnover margin also ranks second, behind Jacksonville’s plus-9. The Packers have recorded multiple takeaways in six straight games.

— Packers WR Christian Watson ranks third in the NFL in yards receiving (879) and Matthew Golden is fourth (783). They’re the only set of teammates to be ranked in the top 10.

— Packers S Xavier McKinney has five interceptions this season to match Buffalo’s Amani Hooker for the most in the NFL.

— The Packers are last in the NFL in yards rushing per game (68.2). They average 3 yards per carry to rank ahead of only Las Vegas. Green Bay had a season-high 129 yards rushing at New England.

AP Pro Football Writer Dave Campbell in Minneapolis contributed to this report.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Green Bay Packers linebacker Isaiah McDuffie (58) celebrates after he recovered a fumble by New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye with safeties Evan Williams (33), Javon Bullard (7), and Xavier McKinney (29), during the second half of an NFL football game in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson, right, and wide receiver Matthew Golden, left, flip as they celebrate after Watson scored a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Minnesota Vikings linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (43) sacks Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, right, during the first half of an NFL football game in Minneapolis, Monday, Nov. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love smiles during a news conference after an NFL football game against the New England Patriots in Foxborough, Mass., Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins speaks during an NFL football press conference, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, in Eagan, Minn., the day after being traded to the team by the Las Vegas Raiders. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — As Republicans dig out from under a midterm landslide, they can point to a single bright spot on the nationwide congressional map. That’s Maine’s 2nd congressional district, the only seat that went from blue to red without the help of redistricting.

It was far from a resounding victory. Even though President Donald Trump won the district by 9 points two years ago, it took a former Republican governor, Paul LePage, to squeak out a victory over Matt Dunlap, the Democratic state auditor.

The Associated Press called the race Thursday after officials finished the ranked choice voting process to determine the winner.

LePage and Dunlap were competing to replace Rep. Jared Golden, a Democrat who is retiring from Congress.

The only other seats that went from blue to red are Texas' 32nd congressional district and Tennessee' 9th congressional district, but both of those flips were enabled by redistricting efforts that made the electorates far more conservative.

Meanwhile, Democrats have flipped 44 seats, and a handful of races have not yet been called.

Dunlap conceded last week and LePage declared victory, and he’s been in Washington for orientation for new members.

“Paul LePage is already hard at work for the people of Maine,” said Brent Littlefield, a spokesperson for LePage.

Maine only has two congressional districts. The 1st is heavily Democratic and includes Portland and wealthy coastal towns. The 2nd includes a few small cities and vast rural and forested areas, and is home to industries such as logging, potato farming and lobster fishing. It’s more conservative than most of New England.

Golden had found success in the 2nd by running as a moderate Democrat who was willing to break with his party. However, he announced last year that he would not run for a fifth term, saying he had “grown tired of the increasing incivility and plain nastiness that are now common from some elements of our American community.”

As governor from 2010 to 2018, most of LePage’s two terms predated Trump’s presidency, but he aligned himself with the president toward the end of his time in office. The two shared a brand of brash, conservative populism, with LePage once saying he was “Donald Trump before Donald Trump became popular.”

However, LePage also criticized Trump's tariffs on Canada, a key trading partner for Maine, and expressed support for legal immigration. When he declared victory last week, LePage vowed to make the state’s interests a priority in Washington.

“If it is good for Maine, I will work hard to make it happen. If it is bad for Maine, I will oppose it,” he said.

Rep.-elect Paul LePage, R-Maine, center, and newly-elected members of the 120th Congress gather for a group photo on the steps of the House of Representatives at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

FILE - Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage, a candidate for Maine's second congressional House district, greets supporters before Vice President JD Vance spoke during a visit to Compotech, a composite technology company, Aug. 24, 2026, in Brewer, Maine. (AP Photo/Gabe Souza, File)